Good article. I'm fine with offensive line and linebacker. Breno and McQuistan are in the last year of their contract. I like McQuistan as the swiss army knife/jack of all trades depth. They singled out Porter as a possible fit at linebacker. Anyone have any insight on him?

I switched off when he basically said San Fran's offense was preferable purely because of their offensive line. It's the kind of cliched thinking I hate seeing for any team, where unless the entire line is full of big names then it's a need area. San Fran have a great line. Seattle's also superior at QB, WR, RB and tight end is a close call. So which offense would YOU really have?

Seattle's pass protection was more than fine last year and stands to get even better as they and Russell Wilson grow. A pick on a swing tackle/guard would be a wise investment. But the Seahawks don't have to fall over themselves going OL-OL on day two. Carpenter is still well liked. If he can get healthy you're talking about R1 pick, R1 pick R2 pick being your LT, LG and C. Only one team in the NFL has more investment in their offensive line -- San Fran. And the difference in investment is Unger being a R2 instead of a R1.

The Seahawks have lost starers at only two positions -- DT and LB. That's the priority for me. If there are significantly better players available at any other position then fair enough. Including the OL. But there's no desperate need on the line like this piece suggests.

theENGLISHseahawk wrote:I switched off when he basically said San Fran's offense was preferable purely because of their offensive line. It's the kind of cliched thinking I hate seeing for any team, where unless the entire line is full of big names then it's a need area. San Fran have a great line. Seattle's also superior at QB, WR, RB and tight end is a close call. So which offense would YOU really have?

Seattle's pass protection was more than fine last year and stands to get even better as they and Russell Wilson grow. A pick on a swing tackle/guard would be a wise investment. But the Seahawks don't have to fall over themselves going OL-OL on day two. Carpenter is still well liked. If he can get healthy you're talking about R1 pick, R1 pick R2 pick being your LT, LG and C. Only one team in the NFL has more investment in their offensive line -- San Fran. And the difference in investment is Unger being a R2 instead of a R1.

The Seahawks have lost starers at only two positions -- DT and LB. That's the priority for me. If there are significantly better players available at any other position then fair enough. Including the OL. But there's no desperate need on the line like this piece suggests.

I like that Pete isn't as worried about being better than the Niners as he is worried about being better than the 2012 Hawks. Try to be better at every group on the field than the Niners and now you are trying to fulfill the wrong vision.

That article was very good considering it probably came from a non-Seahawks fan. I have a few nitpicks though:

-Guard isn't a need. If Seattle drafts a guard early, it would be a pretty big repudiation for Carp/Moffitt, but neither deserve it and I don't think the team is down on either of them. Sweezy has a lot of promise and I'd be surprised if the team didn't hope for him to be the RG of the future. Rishaw Johnson has a lot of talent in the run game. Honestly, we are pretty stacked at guard. I think people blame guard because they saw all the players we were rotating in and assumed there was a problem. At the very most, we might see them draft a player with T/G flexibility, but only if that player is capable of being a full time tackle.

-Our offense kicks the shit out of SFs. I would even argue that our offensive line isn't as far behind SFs as many think. Our RBs ran for more yards per attempt, and our QB doesn't need elite protection. Football outsiders ranks SF/SEA neck and neck in run blocking, but has Seattle way higher in adjusted sack rate (Seahawks are 20th, 49ers are 29th!). Kaepernick deserves respect, but his actual play is not as good as his stats- just like Alex Smith wasn't. He's still very effective, but Wilson is clearly on a higher tier, and I think the vast majority of non-Seahawks, non-49ers fans would agree. We are much stronger at the skill positions as well. It's not even a contest at WR.

-He didn't really mention fast linebackers, though in fairness there really aren't any among the better known options. I like Sean Porter but he has KJ Wright speed. We need someone faster than that.

Lots of good points though. He noticed our tight end duo, said nice things about WR group. I thought his board for DTs was pretty accurate other than Geathers- who is a pretty unremarkable prospect and would surprise me for Seattle. I don't think we'd go after Carradine either, but he mentions Sly/Brandon Williams and gives a shout for Corey Lemonier, and I think the trail is warm for players like those.

I like our line but San Francisco's is significantly better. They can run the ball when the defense is expecting it, us not so much (see the Atlanta game). Unger is a stud, but I wish we had a true road grader like Iupati who just destroys on the run game. I think a lot of our rush yards come from the read/option and Lynch's physical style.

WestcoastSteve wrote:I like our line but San Francisco's is significantly better. They can run the ball when the defense is expecting it, us not so much (see the Atlanta game). Unger is a stud, but I wish we had a true road grader like Iupati who just destroys on the run game. I think a lot of our rush yards come from the read/option and Lynch's physical style.

I agree with you, but that is a minority opinion around here. I thin Breno is a stiff athlete, I think Moffitt is a phone booth player, McQ whiffs a lot.

I will not be surprised by a guard or tackle or both in our first 5 picks.

I agree completely. The true test of a power run team is if you can run on a team when they're lined up against it. Not saying we can't, but we've had to loosen teams up first with some passing and Wilson magic, then hit them and run over them (mostly the playoffs and Detroit are the games I'm thinking).

I'd agree with you Scotte.....I'm not thrilled with our Guards. I'm not saying they can't develop and get better (Moffit and Sweezy are both young, Carp is a beast if he can stay healthy, McQuistan is a valuable backup but no more), but I'd like to see some higher end talent there, and at RT. We could do worse at RT than Breno, but we could do better as well. If Long is available, he'd be the good pick. Let him duke it out at Guard, and back up at Tackle, possibly taking over at RT next year.

We have bigger holes to fill, but I'd call our OL very effective, but not dominant.